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These Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken tenders are tasty, and juicy, and pair well with so many sides. Kid-friendly and perfect to add over salads.
This Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken is an easy marinated chicken recipe that’s full of herbs and spices and is the perfect main course or addition to soups, salads, sandwiches, and more!
I always opt for chicken breast instead of chicken thighs since they tend to be a leaner option. But what’s even better is using chicken tenders. They come out tender and juicy and I just love the lemon garlic chicken marinade I used for this recipe.
You will love how simple my recipe is for these Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken which would also be great to use for your meal prepping. I think you will also like my honey mustard chicken recipe too.
Ingredients you will need
- Chicken tenders: boneless and skinless
- olive oil or you can use avocado oil.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, dried basil, and dried oregano
- Fresh Garlic, Minced
- Lemon juice
- Lemon Zest
- honey: optional but adds a great touch
- Fresh parsley, chopped: optional to garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
How to make it
- Marinate the chicken tenders with the lemon chicken marinade: Place the olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, and salt and pepper in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Seal and shake to combine. Place the chicken in the bag. Seal the bag and move the chicken around to coat in the marinade. Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
- Cook the chicken: Heat a grill or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until done. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
- Don’t want to use chicken tenders? You can use boneless and skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts.
- Fresh garlic adds a great taste and I recommend not skipping it. If you do not have fresh, then its fine, just use garlic powder.
- Do not overcook the chicken. You do not want dry rubbery chicken. The best way that I’ve found to make the easiest way to check if the chicken is done is to use a food thermometer.
- Seasonings: You can play around with this and use seasonings you have on hand or prefer. You can for sure customize the lemon chicken marinade for this recipe.
Storage Recommendations
Have leftovers? Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, simply use the microwave and reheat for 1-2 minutes or until it is heated through.
What to serve with these chicken tenders
- Roasted Smoked Sweet Potato
- Eggplant and Zucchini Gratin
- Jennifer Aniston Salad
- Hasselback Potatoes
- Green Beans and Tomato Salad
Frequently Asked Questions
If your chicken comes out chewy because it has most likely been overcooked. Try not to cook your chicken too fast and allow it to cook over low heat so it retains moisture, don’t overcook and turn out too dry.
Lemon may have a drying effect on a chicken especially if the chicken is overcooked. You can use lemon powder or as long as you use some kind of oil within the chicken recipe you are preparing it should be ok.
There are two ways you can tenderize chicken. Chicken can be soaked in a container in the fridge with either yogurt or buttermilk. Also, you can tenderize chicken by marinating it invan acidic type marinade like vinegar or lemon overnight in the fridge.
More Chicken Recipes
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Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken Tenders
Equipment
- non stick skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chicken, boneless, skinless
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, dried, or equal parts garlic powder, dried basil and dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons Garlic, Minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Lemon Zest
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey and salt and pepper in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag. Seal and shake to combine.
- Place the chicken in the bag. Seal the bag and move the chicken around to coat in the marinade.
- Marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
- Heat a grill or indoor grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until done. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
- You can use chicken thighs or chicken breasts instead
- The longer you marinate the tenders in the lemon chicken marinade the better. At least 3o minutes.
- Add more seasonings of your choice if you prefer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh yum! I could eat all of these wings all by myself They look so delicious!
I have cooked quite a few of your chicken recipes, I prefer to cook them in the oven and always everyone at home enjoys them very much. Also, I used the one with lemon juice in salmon and was delicious (no garlic)
Thanks, Rena, you are a big
Hi Grace. Thank you so much. Glad you loved it
If you want something quick to fix for dinner that tastes good then here’s your pick! Easy quick and tasty! I didn’t follow the measurements because it’s just one of those recipes that calls for eyeing your own requirements. I did use all the ingredients and my hubby kept saying how good it was. That counts! Thanks Violet Kenow!
This recipe looks amazing and I’m looking forward to making it for my wedding next month! I’ll be making it 24 hours in advance. Do you have any recommendations on the best way to reheat without drying it out or making it rubbery? Thanks!
Hi. The way I personally reheat any leftover chicken breast for my kids is I wrap them just in foil and bake for 15 minutes. It reheats the chicken and retains the moisture. Keep them in the foil packs until you are ready to plate. I hope it helps
Hello,
How much lemon zest do I use? Should I zest the whole lemon?
yes. zest of one lemon. You may use half if you don’t like it zesty
Hi,
Can the chicken be baked instead of grilled?
Hi there. You can bake them!
Hi Rena how long do you bake them for and at what temp do you put on the oven
Hi. You can bake at 350 for about 18-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it though because everyone’s oven is different.
Whatever you do… do NOT use an indoor grill pan with this marinade. Olive Oil mixed with the Med-high heat was a smoky disaster. My whole home was hazy and still smells 24 hours later! Use an oil with a higher smoke point if using a grill pan.
Chicken was juicy and delicious though!
I just finished grilling halibut tonight; with my own version of this marinade. I use lemon zest, minced garlic, olive oil & coconut oils plus other spices like corriander, basil & cumin. I cooked it on my indoor smokeless grill & had no problem at all. A few weeks ago; I grilled chicken with the same recipe & no problems. It may be your grill? I use a Hamilton Beach Smokeless Grill I bought at Walmart a couple years ago for $68 … Amazon also carried them last year for about $80. It is a nice heavy grill for the price. 🙂
Can you substitute the honey with sugar there?
Yes you can
You should make a mobile app for your site.
OMG there are so many ads and pop ups and excessive words that its taken me like 5 minutes to find the recippe!!! All I want is the freaking recipe, I don’t need to read a whole blog post about it while being bombarded with ads!
Hi there. We have a “jump to recipe” button at the very top. We hope you get to use that feature next time for a quick access to the recipe.
Is there a button to skip over the toe fungus ads? Jeez.
So sorry about that. I will look into this
Can you freeze this in a zip lock and then throw into the slow cooker / pressure cooker when needed?
Yes you can.
I will try that on Thanksgiving this month since I ll be alone. Something to look forward to! Wish me luck! 🙂
Vicki
Sounds like a great plan
Will be doing this recipe for Christmas Barbeque. I know it will be a winner.
A very good marinade!! I marinated for 4 hours, let it come to room temp, pounded the breasts to tenderize and grilled, came out great. I also skipped the lemon zest as I had already zested my lemons but added more lemon juice. They were tender and moist.
I
Thank you!
I left the chicken overnight in the marinade it was absolutely divine!! With the garlic powder, I added some fresh garlic too, it just gave a bit more of a kick. This is definitely a go to recipe! Love it!! Thanks Rena!
That’s awesome. So glad you liked it
This is my quick go-to marinade, thanks for sharing!
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
How much lemon zest should one use? Can I skip this if I don’t have any lemons or a peeler?
Yes you can skip the lemon zest
Hi so this uses a pound of chicken and makes 4 servings, so would you say 1 serving is 4oz of chicken?
Thanks!
Yes, I would say so. Sometimes 2 large breasts come out to 1 lb. each can be sliced thinner into 2 to make 2 servings per large breast
I marinated the chicken for a little over 2 hours then grilled it. The marinade smelled good but the chicken didn’t have much flavor. Will try to marinate it longer next time
Hi Laura. Try adding more garlic if the flavor wasn’t there for you. No need to marinate it longer.
is this for breast chicken or OK for thighs and legs? the cooking time cannot be 4-5 minutes for each side if so??
Do you plan on using bone in the thighs and legs? If so yes they take much longer to cook.
Hi, this looks delicious! On the nutrition facts what is the serving size?
Hi Brooke. It makes about 4 servings, depending, about 3-4 pieces
Used the recipe, and oh my goodness I definitely found one of my favorite marinate for my chicken!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the feedback Victoria. Glad you liked it.